Far from the sprawling, all-inclusive resorts of Mexico’s Los Cabos is a part of the Baja California peninsula that few tourists ever see, but should.
In one of Mexico’s largest federally protected conservation areas for flora and fauna is a land forested with desert plants that look like they were drawn by Dr. Seuss: candle-

The landscape along Harbor Boulevard between Lampson Avenue and Garden Grove Boulevard looks a lot different than it did a year ago.Construction of the Great Wolf Lodge Southern California, a 603-room hotel and 121,000-square-foot water park in the city of Garden Grove, is moving along swiftly. The lobby, hotel and park structures ar

Sometimes, you just need an attitude adjustment day. Your life is aggravating, your boss is a pill, your kids are obnoxious. But all is not lost.If you follow my instructions, you can enjoy some gorgeous scenery, see a historic lighthouse and a remarkable chapel, have a fabulous lunch and come back refreshed, with at least the hint o

Carmel-by-the-Sea looks like a vision of California dreamed up by an ad agency during the “Mad Men” era for the state tourism commission: craggy bluffs and crashing waves, quaint cottages with cute names, trees and flowers that appear wild yet perfectly manicured.
Everything about the Central Coast town has a carefree, rustic

Seven Devils Road.
Seven Devils Road.
No matter how much I try to concentrate on the lush greenery, the quiet side roads strung with country homes and ranch houses, and the vistas of pastel-tinged seascapes along the Oregon Coast, I can’t get it out of my head.
Seven Devils Road.
OK, the name should have bee

The time is here, my flower-hungry friends.Grab your sunhat. Smear on your sunscreen. Strap on your water belt. Lace up your hiking shoes. And without a doubt, charge up your camera phone.The wildflowers of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park have awakened, turning sandy valley floors into carpets of yellows, pinks and purples

KENNER, La. — A man sprayed a TSA agent in the face with wasp killer then slashed a second guard with a machete before a third agent shot him three times at a security checkpoint in the New Orleans international airport Friday.The shooting caused a panic inside one the terminals and prompting a large police response, according

I want to talk to all you cheapskates out there who want to experience a posh resort, but would rather not pay the posh prices.
This is your time. Don’t worry. Be happy.
Right now is the best time to slide into a last-minute resort vacation. Because the snowbirds have gone back home to Minneapolis and Toronto to shovel off

Ganna Walska, a wealthy Polish opera singer, created the Lotusland garden in her own likeness – beautiful, eccentric, intelligent, quixotic, romantic, spiritual – on a private estate in Montecito, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles in Santa Barbara County.
Walska’s dramatic touch and preference for mass plantings can

The true madness that lies within the heart of March Madness, the annual fixation that is the three-week NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, isn’t inside any arena, nor in the tens of thousands of offices where otherwise conscientious workers stare at TVs, cheering or despairing over how their brackets are faring.Ground zer

Alaska Airlines wants to wing John Wayne Airport passengers south of the border.The airline has asked regulators in the U.S. and Mexico to approve flights from Santa Ana to Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos.Approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation is expected in four weeks while the Seattle-based airline awaits a s

ROME - Two American tourists face charges for carving their names into the Colosseum, the latest act of vandalism sustained by the ancient monument at the hands of tourists, police said Monday.The tourists from California, aged 21 and 25, were cited Saturday for carving their first names three inches high into an upper level of the C

The island of Hawaii, usually referred to as the Big Island for clarity by everyone except locals, is a place of primal power and elemental spirit. Diversity is its middle name and -est is its calling card.Let’s start with the -est claims to fame: It boasts the two tallest mountain peaks in the world as measured from the sea bo

It’s hard to believe that five decades have passed since golf’s Big Three – Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Arnold Palmer – competed in a made-for-TV event to celebrate the grand opening of the Mauna Kea Golf Course. The term “lava golf” was born on that day, Dec. 8, 1964, on the Big Island. Since then, many of

Go ahead, sink your toes in the sand on Hawaii’s famous beaches.
But note: If you’re a first-time visitor, you might be surprised by the color of that sand – it’s not always golden. You’ll find black sand, red sand and even green sand across the island chain.
The Big Island, Maui and Molokai offer bl